Sustainability

Waste Reduction

According to the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, the average building uses more than 2,000 pounds of chemical product for finishing, stripping and restoring every 100,000 square feet of hard-surface floors each year. Of that amount, approximately 19 percent is considered to be hazardous material that is harmful to people and the environment. In most cases, all of that product is stripped from the floors and discarded down the drain.

In addition to the typical amount of chemical waste, conventional floor finishing requires many buffing and stripping pads that become worn out and discarded as solid waste.

PERFORMANCE FINISH

Eliminates the need for stripping, buffing and burnishing.

100% of the chemical waste can be eliminated.

Solid waste from pads and product packaging is reduced by more than 50%.

WATER CONSERVATION

Conventional Stripping instructions indicate that one gallon of stripper diluted with 4 gallons of water is required to strip 1000 square feet of floor finish. This is followed by two rinse steps and a neutralization step.

In addition conventional finishes are typically maintained with periodic scrub and topcoats and sometimes spray buffing.

Total water consumption is estimated to be about 20 gallons per 1000 square feet / year or 2000 gallons for every 100,000 square feet.

PERFORMANCE FINISH

When the finish does require reapplication, the floors are treated with a damp maroon pad prior to application of a fresh coat of finish.

The preparation process uses about 2 gallons of water / 1000 square feet and generates a small amount of solid, inert, non-chemical , non-toxic dust in the water.

ENERGY REDUCTION

Using energy more efficiently reduces the amount of fuel required to produce a unit of energy output and reduces the corresponding emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. According to the US EPA, the national average emissions from the generation of 1 kWh is equivalent to driving the average car 1.6 miles.

Most floor machines and janitorial wet vacs contain a 1.5 HP motor which uses 1.2 kW per hour of use. A typical maintenance program using floor machines, wet vacs, and burnishers uses 1,668 kWh of electricity*. The emissions of greenhouse gases from this use is equivalent to driving over 2,700 miles.

* Based on 100,000 square feet of floor.

AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

People spend the majority of their time indoors, where they face significant health risks due to repeated exposure to air pollutants. Exposure to these pollutants can lead to numerous immediate and long-term health problems.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the most effective way to reduce indoor air pollution is to reduce or eliminate the sources harmful chemical emissions, known as VOCs.
Conventional floor finishes and strippers all contain VOC’s. Typical low VOC finishes contain about 1% VOC (10grams per litre) and low VOC strippers contain 2-6% VOC (20-60 g/l). A typical maintenance program that includes annually stripping and applying 5 coats of finish followed by a quarterly topcoat with 1 coat of finish generates over 50 pounds of VOC for every 100,000 square feet of floor every year.

A single coat of Performance Finish reduces the VOCs generated to about 7 pounds. With an expected service life of 2 years or more.
That’s a 95+% reduction in total VOCs!